Travel in Cuba

My family of three loves cruising, and we try going on one Royal Caribbean cruise each summer.

“In Cuba, nothing is exact. That is the appeal of the place,” wrote award-winning Cuban novelist Pedro Juan Gutiérrez in his book Our Graham Greene in Havana. This inexactness, and its simultaneously volatile yet enduring qualities, are what define Cuba and its vibrant capital. Stuffed full of plazas, baroque beauties, twirling ironwork, buffed-up vintage American motors and limping Ladas, Havana is a city of tremendous beauty soldiering on through dire times marked by power shortages, transport issues, external and internal blockades, inflation, and a slow post-pandemic tourism recovery.

Jul 18, 2024 • 3 min read

Jul 17, 2024 • 7 min read

The effects of Hurricane Beryl are already being felt in the tourist demand for Caribbean destinations, as indicated by the global travel intelligence platform Mabrian, part of The Data Appeal group, an effect that is evident both in the climate perception and in the short-term demand to travel to these destinations.

Jun 18, 2024 • 5 min read

Tiana’s Bayou Adventure officially opens at Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom Park on June 28, and we were among the first guests to experience the attraction this week. Disney first announced that Splash Mountain at both Disney World and Disneyland would be transformed into a new “The Princess and the Frog”-themed ride in 2020. Nearly four years and a complete overhaul later, Disney World’s version of the ride is “almost there,” just a couple of weeks out from its grand opening — and it’s a Mardi Gras-level celebration of the fan-favorite princess and New Orleans.

Argentina’s distinctive reputation looms large in imaginations oceans away from its borders. There’s so much to take in, and such immense distances to travel to do so. 

It’s all about the heat come July, with the northern hemisphere’s sizzling summer temperatures adding an extra shine to some of the world’s most popular travel destinations.

While New Year’s Eve is seen as providing a fresh start, the holiday has taken on a different meaning to Jen Ruiz. At the beginning of 2017, this Florida lawyer turned travel blogger and expert was flying to Greece for what would be first of 12 trips that year.

Exodus Adventure Travels reports double digit growth in North America.

WHY IT RATES: The luxury tour operator is once again returning to Cuba with a new culture-focused ten-day small group journey. — Lacey Pfalz, Associate Writer, TravelPulse

Even in 2024, the question “can Americans travel to Cuba?” is still frequently asked among US travelers. Few destinations create such simultaneous longing and confusion as this crocodile-shaped island only 95 miles south of Key West. It has held a mythic status since the early 20th century for its vibrant mix of Latin and Caribbean cultures, its hundreds of miles of pristine beaches, its African-influenced music, and its vintage charm; today, Chevrolets and Buicks from the ’50s rattle down Spanish colonial streets in Old Havana that have hardly changed since Ernest Hemingway was knocking back mojitos there.

For some, the thrill of travel comes not from visiting exciting places or even scoring the next flight deal—it’s planning the outfits. The best vacation shirts for men (really, the best menswear shirts that anyone can pack in their suitcase) work for a variety of occasions, from hanging out at the beach in Miami to shopping in local artsy neighborhoods of Mexico City to dining at elegant restaurants at the resorts of Amalfi. To help you get ready for your next sun-soaked trip, here are 43 options for some of the best shirts to pack for a summer vacation.

When a northern, sea-bound island goes by the nickname “The Rock,” you already have a good idea of what to expect. Newfoundland is a place of elemental beauty where the Earth’s mantle is one of the attractions. Stiff breezes can build to roaring winds off the cold Atlantic, pushing around icebergs and tossing fishing boats, even in coves protected by jagged cliffs where clouds of seabirds nest.

Miami’s been given a wild culinary glow-up over the past few decades, the titterings of which began when Gianni Versace, in all his fashionable prescience, chose to hang his hat in South Beach, with celebrities like Madonna, Sly Stallone and Lenny Kravitz following suit — indulgent palates in tow. 

Whitening. Herbal. Charcoal. Color changing? I'm in the toothpaste aisle at Target, dumbfounded by a selection that runs several shelves long and as many high. After more than 20 years in Cuba, where Close-Up and La Perla were the only choices for most of that time, I'm overwhelmed by the number of options. If Target triggers paralysis, I shudder to think what terror Costco might elicit.

This essay is the first in a series about traveling after confinement. Look for the next one this summer.

In the 16th century, Antwerp, Belgium, with its busy docks along the river Scheldt, was a booming center of trade and one of Europe’s most influential cities, attracting artists, intellectuals and entrepreneurs. In 1576, Christophe Plantin ran a prestigious printing business (one of the continent’s largest) in the center of the city, a half-mile from where, a few decades later, the painter Peter Paul Rubens would build his own studio and semicircular sculpture hall, modeled after the Pantheon. Over the years, while other long-established port cities like Venice and Barcelona evolved into throbbing tourist centers, Belgium’s second city largely kept far away from the spotlight, yet it’s always quietly maintained a reputation as a place for innovation and creative expression. In the 1980s, it became an important fashion hub with the emergence of the Antwerp Six: a group of young designers, including Ann Demeulemeester, who had been educated at the city’s Royal Academy of Fine Arts.

Miami is a sprawling metropolis containing a multitude of cultures and attractions. While that makes for an incredible trip, it can be tricky for first-timers to figure out the best place to base themselves.

From Paris to Buenos Aires, you’ll want to settle in and raise a glass at these famous literary bars, notebook at the ready.

Carnival Paradise crew members saving stranded sailors. (Photo Credit: Carnival Cruise Line Media)